In the midst of the coronavirus crisis, rumors and misinformation can spread just as quickly as the disease. In San Jose, social media posts proliferated alleging police officers were stopping people in low-income neighborhoods for violating the state’s “shelter-in-place” order, which asks residents to stay inside unless they need to do essential tasks. The claims alarmed police...
Amid criticism, San Jose eases some ‘sunshine’ rules in the wake of coronavirus
Among the emergency laws signed in the wake of the coronavirus, Gov. Gavin Newsom expanded health care for California residents, eased restrictions to qualify for unemployment and issued a statewide stay-at-home order. But tucked inside the slew of measures was an order to loosen the state’s sunshine laws, including the Brown Act, which ensures greater...
San Jose officials asks residents to report ‘stay at home’ violations
If you see your neighbor or a business violating the “stay at home” order that now applies to all of California, the San Jose Police Department wants you to call 311. On Friday, San Jose Chief of Police Eddie Garcia along with Mayor Sam Liccardo said the police department saw 56 violations of the order...
San Jose officials push efforts to eliminate empty downtown storefronts
San Jose has long had dozens of boarded-up businesses lining the main drags of the city’s downtown core, giving way to unsightly scenes of blight, drug use and crime. As residents gripe about empty storefronts plaguing downtown’s streetscapes, Councilmember Raul Peralez, who represents downtown, has vowed to put an end to the drab storefronts by...
San Jose: Paid sick leave proposal stalls as lawmakers raise questions
The fast-moving spread of the novel coronavirus has forced millions of Bay Area residents to stay shuttered in their homes, threatening the local economy and disrupting countless lives. But the hundreds of thousands of employees in San Jose who don’t have paid sick leave could face a difficult choice of risking their health by working while...
San Jose adopts measures to help businesses amid coronavirus closures
As cancellations, school closures and mandatory quarantines ramp up, San Jose leaders are scrambling to help the city’s most vulnerable residents, fearing devastating economic consequences for residents and local small businesses that are losing income. Following last week’s call to place a moratorium on evictions for residents who can’t pay rent because of lost income,...
San Jose Public Libraries to close in wake of coronavirus pandemic
City officials are closing all San Jose Public Libraries beginning Tuesday after Santa Clara County and five other Bay Area counties issued a shelter in place mandate, ordering residents to stay at home as much as possible to decrease the spread of coronavirus. “We’re following the county of Santa Clara order along with several other...
San Jose: Senior care facilities take steps to protect residents from coronavirus
As the number of coronavirus cases continues to climb in Santa Clara County, those caring for the most vulnerable residents — senior citizens — are increasingly on edge. Senior home workers in the South Bay are wiping down commonly touched surfaces more frequently and taking inventory of items such as hand sanitizer, masks and gloves....
San Jose councilmembers unanimously approve mayor’s new budget plan
As the city copes with the ongoing economic impacts of the coronavirus outbreak, San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo announced in his recent budget message that he wants to shift public dollars to prioritize housing and homelessness, while cutting back on city spending in the event of an economic downturn. The mayor’s budget message, which was...
San Jose adopts a ban on evictions amid coronavirus outbreak
Fearing severe economic consequences to vulnerable San Jose families, city lawmakers on Tuesday unanimously approved adopting a moratorium on evictions for residents who can’t pay rent because of lost income resulting from the coronavirus outbreak. As the virus continues to spread across the globe with new cases every day, leaders are advising residents in more than 90...